Mystery Solved

After two days of a complete freak out thinking I had hundreds of infantile spiders, or worse yet - bedbugs, climbing around the house, the mystery of the itchy red bumps has been thoroughly researched and solved.

It may be gross, but... Thanks to my friend M and I who together noticed that the red itchy bumps had little "white heads". AHA! This took them out of the bug realm and into something else. But what?!

Research continued until I found something that piqued my uh-oh button...

Think back a couple of days ago when I wrote:
The cough from my cold is still here, my inner ears are still itchy and I have this lovely little wheeze when I get in cold air or breathe hard. In light of that I went to my friend's house Saturday evening and spent over an hour in their hot tub! Sheer heaven. The humidity and bromine really helped my lungs and the hot water relaxed the day's stresses away.

Well that was my downfall. The fact that I had been sick and not sleeping well for days caused me to be more susceptible to a little known thing called Pseudomonas Folliculitis, or Hot Tub Rash. And I have it. Bad.

"Folliculitis caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa typically appears about 72 hours after exposure in a hot tub or spa. Many small pustules appear on the trunk and sometimes the arms and legs. You may have a mild fever and feel ill. This type of folliculitis usually goes away on its own within 7 to 10 days."

Yep, Saturday night to Tuesday morning - right on schedule. And I do have a slightly elevated temp, but I was feeling ill anyways so who knew?! LoL

Best part is ~ It's not contagious and ~ thank the Gods ~ IT'S NOT BUGS!

First things first: I need to call my friends and have them "shock" their hot tub.

Next: I am off to get something serious (like a wire brush, or ok, calamine lotion) to treat this infernal itching!!!